Americans United - Bishop Council Neddhttps://www.au.org/tags/bishop-council-nedd
enMiffed About A Meeting: Religious Right Carps About White House Confab With Secularistshttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/miffed-about-a-meeting-religious-right-carps-about-white-house-confab-with
<a href="/about/people/bathija">Sandhya Bathija</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">It seems only fair that if the White House is going to lend an ear to so many religious groups, it should lend the other to secularists once in a while. After all, non-believers are Americans too, and some polls show their numbers on the upswing.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>As last week came to a close, the Secular Coalition of America – an advocacy group made up of atheists, agnostics and humanists – had a chance to meet with members of the Obama Administration.</p>
<p>The meeting on Friday reportedly marked the first time American non-believers have ever met with White House officials, and it really struck a nerve with the Religious Right.</p>
<p>“It is one thing for Administration to meet with groups of varying viewpoints but it is quite another for a senior official to sit down with activists representing some of the most hate-filled, anti-religious groups in the nation,” <a href="//www.earnedmedia.org/igwt0225.htm">said </a>Bishop Council Nedd, chairman of a group called In God We Trust. Religious Right attorney Jordan Sekulow also complained about the White House chat during a segment that aired on the Christian Broadcasting Network.</p>
<p>Nedd, Sekulow and others need to quit whining. Religious groups (left, right and center) have meetings with White House aides all of the time. The Obama administration decided to extend that privilege to some secularists. It’s not a big deal.</p>
<p>Catholic League President Bill Donohue <a href="//www.standardnewswire.com/news/792394990.html">claims</a> the problem isn’t that atheists or agnostics are expressing their concerns, but rather that the Secular Coalition is particularly bad, in his opinion. He attacked the advisory board of the Secular Coalition, including AU’s Rob Boston, for having what he thinks is a “track record of open hostility to people of faith,” and who are “downright bigoted in their assault on Christianity, especially Catholicism.”</p>
<p>It’s always amusing to hear a Religious Right leader call anyone “bigoted,” “hateful” and “hostile.” But beyond that, their complaining is even more ridiculous when we look at how many times Religious Right leaders visited the White House under President George W. Bush.</p>
<p>Last year, Citizens for Responsibility in Ethics <a href="//www.au.org/media/church-and-state/archives/2009/10/religious-right-had-run-of.html">revealed</a> records that showed “leading conservative Christian leaders may have had a significant voice in President Bush’s administration, and many seem to have had the ear of the president himself.”</p>
<p>According the that report, James Dobson, founder of the Colorado-based Focus on the Family, visited the White House 24 times, including 10 visits with President George W. Bush.</p>
<p>Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, visited 14 times, including two visits with Bush.</p>
<p>Andrea Lafferty, executive director of the Traditional Values Coalition, made 50 White House visits, including six with the president.</p>
<p>Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, made the second-highest number of visits – 43 – including four with Bush.</p>
<p>Other well-known conservative religious leaders who visited Bush and others at the White House included the late Rev. Jerry Falwell and the late Paul Weyrich, founder of the Free Congress Foundation.</p>
<p>If Nedd and Donahue want to stop hostility and bigotry, shouldn’t they first start with these leaders who have been to the White House more than anybody?</p>
<p>Besides, their fears over Friday’s meeting are totally unfounded. The Secular Coalition wasn’t there to bash anyone’s religion. According to <a href="http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/politics/2010/February/White-House-Gives-Ear-to-Secularist-Group/">media reports</a>, the meeting touched on three main themes:</p>
<p>First, how to protect children from neglect and abuse for parents who cite religious reason to deny their children medical treatment.</p>
<p>Second, how to end proselytization in the military.</p>
<p>And finally, how to stop faith-based organizations that receive federal funding from proselytizing and discriminating in hiring.</p>
<p>Expressing these concerns to the White House hardly threatens religious liberty. In fact, the group is advocating that the government respect all religious and non-religious beliefs by remaining secular – a far cry from the “affront” to religion that Nedd warned about.</p>
<p>It seems only fair that if the White House is going to lend an ear to so many religious groups, it should lend the other to secularists once in a while. After all, non-believers are Americans too, and some polls show their numbers on the upswing.</p>
<p>For many years, elected officials ignored non-believers. The Obama Administration doesn’t want to overlook any Americans on the basis of what they believe or don’t believe about God. I can’t help but see that as a good thing.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/churches-and-politics">Churches and Politics</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/bill-donohue">Bill Donohue</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/bishop-council-nedd">Bishop Council Nedd</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/catholic-league">Catholic League</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/god-we-trust">in god we trust</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/jordan-sekulow">Jordan Sekulow</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/obama-administration">Obama Administration</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/religion-and-politics">Religion and politics</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/secular-coalition-america-0">Secular Coalition of America</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/white-house">White House</a></span></div></div>Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:59:27 +0000Sandhya Bathija2262 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/miffed-about-a-meeting-religious-right-carps-about-white-house-confab-with#comments